Conventionally, a paper drip type coffee making method which allows the easy enjoyment of genuine coffee has been widely used. In this paper drip type coffee making method, coffee for several individuals (several cups) is ordinarily made at one time.
In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of people living alone, and the number of family members in a single family is decreasing because of a trend toward nuclear families and because of a drop in the birth rate. As a consequence, a disposable drip coffee bag for one person (hereinafter called a drip bag) which is used to facilitate the making of one cup of coffee is commonly seen on the market in various forms instead of the conventional paper drip system used mainly for making several cups of coffee.
In particular, drip bags that have a simple construction include drip bags comprising a bag main body consisting of a water-permeable filtering sheet in which ground coffee is placed, and a holding member made of paper or the like which is pasted to a side surface of the bag main body. This drip bag makes it possible to conserve the materials used to form the bag, and can be manufactured at low cost. Furthermore, a compact product can be produced.
However, this drip bag differs from a conventional paper drip system in that a dripper is immersed in the liquid coffee inside the cup during coffee percolation; accordingly, this may lead to dissatisfaction with the taste of the coffee in some cases. Furthermore, since the dripper is immersed in the hot liquid coffee, care must be taken when the dripper is cleared away following coffee percolation.
In contrast to this, the present inventors have proposed a drip bag having holding members of a specified shape, which makes it possible to obtain the good taste of coffee made by a conventional paper drip system, and which also has a simple construction, is extremely easy to set on the cup, shows a stable shape after being set on the cup, and is easily and safely disposable following coffee percolation (Japanese Patent No. 3166151).
FIG. 4A is a plan view of a coffee drip bag 10 in which his drip bag 1 is filled with ground coffee, the opening art at the upper end is closed, and a perforation is formed in the upper end portion. FIGS. 4B and 4C are explanatory diagrams showing the conditions of use.
This drip bag 1 comprises a bag main body 2, holding members 3 which are disposed on the outside surfaces of two opposite sides of the bag main body 2, and reinforcing parts 9 which are disposed on the outer peripheral portions of the holding members 3.
The holding members 3 are formed by forming cut lines in a thin sheet-form material such as paper, a plastic sheet or the like. Each of these holding members 3 comprises a peripheral edge part 4, an arm part 5 and a tongue part 6, with the tongue part 6 being pasted to the outside surface of the bag main body 2 (in the figures, the portion surrounded by the broken line p is the portion that is pasted). The lower end of the tongue part 6 and lower portion of the arm part 5 are continuous, and the upper end of the arm part 5 and upper portion of the peripheral edge part 4 are continuous.
When the coffee drip bag 10 is used, the bag is opened by cutting away the upper end portion of the bag main body 2 along the perforation 7. The peripheral edge parts 4 are pulled out as indicated by the arrow A (FIG. 4B); these peripheral edge parts 4 are then further pulled out in accordance with the diameter of the cup 30, and these parts are set on the cup side walls 31 (FIG. 4C).
As a result, the bag main body 2 is pulled in opposite directions from two opposite sides by the arm parts 5 as indicated by the arrows B, so that the bag main body 2 is suspended in the upper central portion of the cup 30 in a state in which the opening part 8 is opened wide. Furthermore, the reinforcing parts 9 prevent the front and back sheets that form the bag main body 9 from flexing so that the opening part 8 is closed. Moreover, the peripheral edge parts 4 pushes the outer surfaces of the cup side walls 31 in the direction indicated by the arrows C. As a result, the coffee drip bag 10 is fastened to the upper part of the cup 30 in an extremely stable state.
After the coffee drip bag 10 has thus been simply set on the cup 30 in an extremely stable state, good-tasting coffee can easily be obtained merely by pouring hot water via the opening part 8 as indicated by the arrows. Furthermore, disposal of the coffee drip bag 10 following coffee percolation can also be easily accomplished.
However, in the abovementioned coffee drip bag 10, although the walls 32 of the opening part of the cup 30 can be securely clamped by the peripheral edge parts 4 and arm parts 5 as shown in FIG. 5A in cases where the wall thickness of the opening part of the cup 30 is thin, these walls 32 cannot be firmly clamped by the peripheral edge parts 4 and arm parts 5 in cases where the walls 32 of the opening part of the cup 30 are thick as shown in FIG. 5B. As a result, the holding members 3 tend to slip from the cup 30 as indicated by the arrow.
The present invention is intended to solve such problems; an object of the present invention is to allow very easy and secure setting on the cup, and further stabilization of the shape of the drip bag following setting on the cup, even in cases where the walls of the opening part of the cup are thick, in a drip bag which is devised so that the good taste of coffee made by a conventional paper drip system can be obtained.